Submitted by Kropotkin on
Conditions were more or less ideal for the first practice session at Laguna Seca. The usual suspects were in excellent form, although Casey Stoner took a while to get up to speed, but after 20 minutes or so, Stoner was bang at the top of the timesheets, a position he did not relinquish. Otherwise the Americans, or rather, the American regulars, were good, as expected, with John Hopkins and Colin Edwards being very fast right from the off.
The top 6 were all pretty close, with a gap after Chris Vermeulen down to 7th. Vermeulen took his time to get into his stride though, gradually climbing up into the top echelons. After their triumph of last week, the Repsol Hondas, reportedly fresh off re-signing their sponsor, are a way down the field. In theory, they should both be fast here, but theory is a very cruel mistress indeed.
The big excitement came early in the session, when Sylvain Guintoli messed up the Corkscrew, and fired through the gravel taking out Alex Hofmann. Hofmann was injured and taken to the medical center. No word yet on his condition.
Practice continues this afternoon.
| 1 | 27 | Casey STONER | DUCATI | 1'23.410 | ||
| 2 | 33 | Marco MELANDRI | HONDA | 1'23.597 | 0.187 | 0.187 |
| 3 | 5 | Colin EDWARDS | YAMAHA | 1'23.692 | 0.282 | 0.095 |
| 4 | 21 | John HOPKINS | SUZUKI | 1'23.753 | 0.343 | 0.061 |
| 5 | 46 | Valentino ROSSI | YAMAHA | 1'23.754 | 0.344 | 0.001 |
| 6 | 71 | Chris VERMEULEN | SUZUKI | 1'23.962 | 0.552 | 0.208 |
| 7 | 14 | Randy DE PUNIET | KAWASAKI | 1'24.311 | 0.901 | 0.349 |
| 8 | 1 | Nicky HAYDEN | HONDA | 1'24.516 | 1.106 | 0.205 |
| 9 | 4 | Alex BARROS | DUCATI | 1'24.552 | 1.142 | 0.036 |
| 10 | 95 | Roger Lee HAYDEN | KAWASAKI | 1'24.584 | 1.174 | 0.032 |
| 11 | 26 | Dani PEDROSA | HONDA | 1'24.680 | 1.270 | 0.096 |
| 12 | 65 | Loris CAPIROSSI | DUCATI | 1'24.786 | 1.376 | 0.106 |
| 13 | 6 | Makoto TAMADA | YAMAHA | 1'25.032 | 1.622 | 0.246 |
| 14 | 7 | Carlos CHECA | HONDA | 1'25.097 | 1.687 | 0.065 |
| 15 | 56 | Shinya NAKANO | HONDA | 1'25.370 | 1.960 | 0.273 |
| 16 | 17 | Miguel DUHAMEL | HONDA | 1'25.550 | 2.140 | 0.180 |
| 17 | 13 | Anthony WEST | KAWASAKI | 1'25.570 | 2.160 | 0.020 |
| 18 | 50 | Sylvain GUINTOLI | YAMAHA | 1'25.745 | 2.335 | 0.175 |
| 19 | 80 | Kurtis ROBERTS | KR212V | 1'26.058 | 2.648 | 0.313 |
| 20 | 66 | Alex HOFMANN | DUCATI | 1'27.751 | 4.341 | 1.693 |
Circuit records:
| Fastest Lap: | Casey STONER | 1'23.410 | 155.808 Km/h | |
| Circuit Record Lap: | 2006 | Dani PEDROSA | 1'23.333 | 155.952 Km/h |
| Circuit Best Lap: | 2005 | Nicky HAYDEN | 1'22.670 | 157.203 Km/h |
